Charming literature museum and garden – kids will love playing hide-and-seek between the small huts, running around sprinkling fountains and river-crossing on stepping stones

Sonagi Village is a peaceful countryside park in the Yangpyeong district. The village is the literary museum of famous Korean author Hwang Sun-won (1915-2000), who wrote Sonagi, Cranes, The Dog of Crossover Village and many more classic Korean short stories.

Sonagi 'Rain Shower' (1959) - a sonagi is a brief but a heavy rain shower that starts suddenly, usually on a hot afternoon. In Hwang’s story, the rain shower symbolizes the short but heart-rending love between the boy and the girl. [...] “Rain Shower” is cited as his timeless Korean classic by Koreans. (wikipedia)

Start your visit with the indoor museum building. The first rooms recount the author’s life and works – illustrated with photos, references from those Japanese-colonial times and a reproduction of his office. The second section displays miniatures of his most popular novels. Sonagi has a dedicated section with nature-scenery murals. A library and a video room can also be found. Don’t miss the outdoor terrace on the 3rd floor to enjoy views over the garden and surrounding mountains.

The Exhibition is practically in Korean only (or with very scarce English translation). Even though, we enjoyed the visit and several displays were clearly kids-friendly.

When you’re done with literature :-), it’s time to enjoy the walking trail in the park! An easy walk will take you through successive stations. This nature walk was designed around Hwang Sun-won’s novels again. Knowing the stories is probably a plus but not a pre-requisite! Our kids just had a great time running from the millet shelters to the (statues of ) cows station, spotting the Dog of Crossover Village, walking in the forest, etc.

The central green field was the biggest fun. Several small huts – in depiction of the teenage boy and girl taking shelter from the monsoon rain shower in Sonagi – provide a perfect hide-and-seek playtime opportunity. At regular times (indicatively 1:00pm, 3:00pm, 5:00pm), sprinklers spray out water high in the air for about 5 minutes. Jumping in muddy paddles is great on a hot sunny day!

A last part of the walk takes you to the nearby river, through a short forestry trail and a few stairs. There enjoy crossing the river on the wooden pedestrian bridge or at stream level on the stepping stones. Don’t forget your camera!

Opening hours:
March – October : 9:30 – 18:00
November – February : 9:30 – 17:00
※Last admission is 30 minutes before closing time
※Closed: Mondays (If Monday is a public holiday the next day), January 1st, Seollal, Chuseok

Admission:
Adults 2,000 won / Teens 1,500 won / Children 1,000 won

How to get there:
Yangsu Station (Jungang line) – then take a taxi for ~12km / 30 minutes. There are buses that run from Yangsu Station to the Village, but they seem to run on very uncertain timestables and through much longer routes.